Juventus confirm interest in Samp's Cassano

Juventus have confirmed their interest in signing Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano this summer, after the player was told he could leave the club for €20m.

Juve president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli admitted the club is closely monitoring the performances of the former Real Madrid and Roma star with a view to luring him to the Delle Alpi stadium at the end of the season.

"Antonio is a lad who is becoming a man," said Cobolli Gigli. "He is funny and he is a very good player.

"(Juve sporting director Alessio) Secco has spoken about who we could sign in June, and Cassano is one of the players that we are considering."

Cassano joined Sampdoria on a permanent basis last summer from Madrid and appears to have matured in the city of Genoa; the notoriously temperamental player having previously fallen out with the coaching staff at Roma and Real Madrid.

The striker fetched a fee of €28m, when he first moved to Roma from Bari in 2001; and Sampdoria's chief executive, Giuseppe Marotta, said last week that he would sell his star player if the interested parties reached their asking price.

"I will sell Cassano for €20m, but he has to decide [on his future]," Marotta, told Tuttosport. "Those [clubs] who are interested in him will have to pay the clause in his contract.''

The 26-year-old is Samp's top Serie A scorer this season with six goals, but Juve have also been linked with a move for Werder Bremen midfielder Diego and Secco said on Sunday that the Brazilian was top of his list.

"Cassano is a champion, but there are others like him out there," he said. "Diego? We are trying to keep things under wraps, but it is difficult to do it sometimes. I don't like publicising the things I want to do, but I know that if we want to improve, we will have to get top players."